Prohibition ended 83 years ago, but sometimes it feels like beer is still treated as contraband. Or at least so it is with craft beer — the artisan products of small breweries and brew-pubs around the country. A number of states make it difficult for these entrepreneurs to expand and compete with traditional beer manufacturers. So-called three-tier laws, for example prohibit brewers, distributors and retailers from having a financial interest in each other. This works to the disadvantage of the little craft brewer, for whom established distribution channels are nearly impossible to arrange, and for whom self-distribution would be much easier.

To be sure, the demand for good beer has forced the roll-back of some restrictions — resulting in new jobs and increased revenue to states that open up economic opportunity to small brewers.

But that’s not the trend everywhere. In Alabama, bureaucrats are now considering an intrusive, creepy plan to treat craft beer consumers like suspects on a government “watch” list.

Slated for review by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) on September 28, this Orwellian rule would require craft breweries — but not other sellers of beer — to record the name, address, birthday, and telephone number of anyone who buys craft beer for carryout. The law purportedly will help the commission enforce its stringent limits on how much craft breweries can sell. As some have pointed out, this means the commission will technically be able to drive to your house to account for all the beer you’ve bought — just to make sure the brewer sold within state limits. Someone familiar with the anti-competitive alcohol industry might suspect the law’s true aim is to make it difficult for craft breweries to sell their tasty concoctions.

Indeed, specious rationales for beer regulations are not uncommon. Florida law used to prohibit craft brewers from selling their beverages in the standard half-gallon container — called a “growler.” Though presented as a means of reducing drinking, that justification was undermined by the fact the ban did not stop anyone from buying two quarter-gallon jugs, or even four quarter-gallon jugs. The real concern was that a standard growler contains about the same amount of beer as a six-pack, and thereby presents consumers with a new alternative.

Following a civil rights lawsuit by Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of a small Stuart, Florida restaurant, The Crafted Keg, the state Legislature last year unanimously repealed the irrational restriction. When Governor Rick Scott signed the repeal bill, he explained: “By making the sale of 64-ounce growlers legal in Florida, we are eliminating another burdensome regulation and allowing more Florida businesses to succeed.”

That Alabama’s surveillance scheme is also burdensome and unjustified, can be seen when it’s compared to regulations for other industries. For instance, while Alabama wants to track personal information for craft brewery sales, it has no analogous requirements for cigarettes, to ensure that vendors aren’t selling to children.

What the proposed rule most resembles is the government reporting mandate for pseudoephedrine. Pharmacists must collect personal data on the purchasers of this over-the-counter drug because of its relationship to methamphetamine production. Not since Prohibition has buying beer been considered so unsavory and potentially criminal.

Alabama craft brewers have said the customer-tracking law will create a “logistical nightmare.” These small businesses will be forced to find a way to quickly record and securely store their patrons’ personal information. At the end of each month, the brewers must hand over that data to the government. This is an obvious disincentive for untrusting consumers to buy craft beer. Many will likely steer clear of such purchases, in favor of buying a name-brand beer at the corner store.

The proper, constitutionally valid purpose of economic regulations is to protect public health and safety, not to protect selected businesses by curbing competition from others. Alabama’s alcohol regulators need to show some sobriety and pour the competition-stifling, suds surveillance plan down the drain.

Anastasia Boden is an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation who specializes in litigating for economic liberty and entrepreneurs’ rights. PLF has submitted a comment letter to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Commission opposing the proposed customer-tracking rule for craft beer purchases.